Darkest Fears
by Darkfire Galaxy
Summary: It's Halloween in Stoneybridge and so how better to celebrate than a movie night and takeaway at Shannon's? But when a power cut hits, they discover that Tom has a phobia he's told no one about. To only add to it all, there's something strange going on at the Vaughan household.


Wolfblood

Darkest Fears

Maddy let out a sigh as the bell finally rang signalling the end of school. She'd been hoping that everyone would keep it somewhat calm during lessons this year and apart from Sam wearing a werewolf mask to poke fun at Liam her prayers seemed to have been answered. It was only a couple of years ago that Jimi had dressed up as a killer clown and tried to prank them up on the moors. While A&E had patched him up pretty well, she noticed he'd been keeping his distance as Halloween drew closer.

"So…" Shannon clapped a hand on Maddy's shoulder making her jump a mile. "Are we doing the same as last year, then?"

"Yeah, it's a movie night at yours with takeaway and other junk food and Tom is _not_ allowed to pick after suggesting The Last Airbender two years ago." Maddy summarised. "Are you coming, Rhydian?" she asked, looking over at where he was packing away his sketch pad from where he'd been doodling instead of listening to Jefferies.

"Yeah, it's better than having veggie burgers and slices of blood orange while Ollie and Joe run around in terrifyingly bad Halloween costumes." Rhydian nodded.

"Oh my god, does she _actually_ put out slices of blood orange on Halloween?" Tom buried his head in his hands.

"She even offers it to trick-or-treaters." Rhydian grinned.

"You're joking!" Shannon seemed lost for words.

"I actually don't know what's scarier." Rhydian sighed. "Ollie and Joe in terrible costumes, or the fact that Mrs Vaughan just _doesn't_ know what to do on Halloween."

"Um, I seem to remember a time when you'd have been glad for that because you were terrified of Halloween." Maddy reminded him. "You nearly died as a result." She lowered her voice, not wanting Jefferies to hear.

"Yeah, but that's only because your dad decided to do something incredibly stupid." Rhydian countered. "Nowadays I'd know he's joking. I didn't know that back then."

"Are you alright, kids?" Jefferies called over, snapping them out of their conversation. "It's home time. The clue should be in the name. It's also Halloween. Go on! Get out there and scare the pants off some old people or whatever it is you all do nowadays." Tom burst out laughing.

"No one does that anymore, sir."

"Don't they?" Jefferies breathed a relieved sigh. "I won't bother taping up my windows tonight then."

"Yeah, Halloween used to be a lot of fun with pushing fireworks through letterboxes or bursting into peoples' rooms armed with chainsaws that still have the blades on." Rhydian shot Tom a venomous glare which he diligently ignored. "Now it's got to the point where it's just really fake and violent, so we just spend the evening at Shannon's watching movies and eating unhealthy food like there's no tomorrow."

"Well, I hope you enjoy that." Jefferies grinned as he shuffled some paperwork, got up and gestured to the door. "Now off you go, I've got to lock up for the night. The sooner I get home, the sooner I can start putting expired sweets in the trick-or-treaters' baskets. Wordlessly, everyone grabbed their bags and left. It was only once they were sure that Jefferies couldn't hear them that they burst out laughing.

"Does Jefferies realise how old he sounds sometimes?" Tom wondered aloud.

"Don't be mean to him." Maddy swatted Tom across the arm. "Everyone goes through a midlife crisis."

"What about Wolfbloods?" Shannon asked, a look of curiosity crossing her face. "Do they have a midlife crisis?"

"Yeah, and they have it earlier than humans." Rhydian sighed. "We don't quite live as long as some of you, which means we get it earlier."

"Wait… You don't live as long?" Shannon couldn't believe it. "How long are we talking?"

"Some of us consider making our sixties to be an achievement." Maddy admitted. "Our seventies are a cause for real celebration and our eighties are almost unheard of. I've never in my life heard of a Wolfblood getting any further than eighty-two, but my Nan is seventy-nine so ask me again in four years."

"Wow, I never imagined." Tom had stopped walking and was fixing them with a look between horror and concern.

"Well, you can wipe that look off your face." Rhydian laughed playfully as he swatted Tom round the back of the head. "We're not going anywhere _yet_."

"When you do, can I have your CDs?" Tom joked drily, punching Rhydian in the shoulder. "Seriously, what is it with people and hitting me lately?"

"That's a bit hypocritical." Rhydian scowled as he dramatically rubbed his shoulder in a mock display of fake pain. They carried on bickering among themselves until they reached the school gates and then got ready to go their separate ways.

"So, we'll get changed, meet at mine and then order the food." Shannon summarised. "Are there any volunteers to get the chocolate?"

"I haven't touched chocolate since Kay's party." Tom muttered, taking a step back.

"We can do it, can't we, Rhydian?" Maddy rested an arm across the small of his back as he pulled her slightly closer.

"Yeah, we've got this." Rhydian nodded. "What time are we meeting at yours?" he asked Shannon.

"Is about five okay for everyone?" Shannon asked, glancing between everyone to double check.

"Yeah, I think we can manage that." Maddy checked her watch before nodding.

"My mum's probably going to keep me back for her usual fifteen minute Halloween lecture on how to stay safe." Tom muttered. "I'll probably be there by about five fifteen."

"Great, so we'll meet at mine, wait for Tom and then order the food." Shannon shrugged.

"See you there." Maddy waved goodbye over her shoulder as she grabbed Rhydian and hauled him after her.

"What the hell are you up to now?" he whispered. "You never just leave them abruptly like that unless you're planning something."

"Oh, I am." Maddy grinned. "Meet me outside Bernie's in thirty minutes." Rhydian nodded and hurried off. Part of him was terrified to find out what Maddy was planning and yet another part was intrigued. Infinite possibilities were running through his mind.

When Rhydian arrived home, he expected to be jumped on as soon as he stepped through the door. Instead, he opened the door to a silent house. Ollie and Joe didn't run to meet him as they usually did and he couldn't hear Mrs Vaughan in the kitchen cooking as usual. Cautiously, he crept inside.

"If you're thinking of jumping out and surprising me, you can forget it!" he called out. He was just about to bring his wolf forward to better check for scents when he heard the back door open. He went into the kitchen to find Mrs Vaughan bringing the washing in.

"Oh, hello there…" Mrs Vaughan said, pausing to heft the basket onto the table. "I thought you were going to Shannon's."

"I am." Rhydian told her. "I just popped home to get changed."

"Oh, well can you try to get some sense out of Ollie and Joe while you're up there?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Rhydian couldn't hide his confusion.

"They've started doing this thing where they finish each other's sentences and speaking at the same time." Mrs Vaughan replied. "I can't get what they want for supper out of them. It's getting annoying."

"That's not unusual." Rhydian shrugged. "All twins do that at some point in their lives. I'll have a word with them."

"Do they?" Mrs Vaughan wondered as Rhydian started upstairs. In truth, Rhydian had no clue. He'd never had a brother before Bryn came along and he'd never dreamed he'd live in a house with a set of twins looking up to him. He climbed the stairs and passed Ollie and Joe's room on the way to his. If he was going to check on them, he couldn't be long because of having to go and meet Maddy. After a few seconds of not hearing anything, he knocked on the door and pushed it open. Ollie and Joe sat cross-legged in the middle of the bedroom carpet. Ollie was laughing uncontrollably while Joe seemed perfectly composed.

"What's going on here, then?" Rhydian asked as he sauntered over and sat down with them. It took a while for him to get an answer.

"Joe keeps telling jokes." Ollie managed to gasp out eventually.

"Does he?" Rhydian decided to play along. "What sort of jokes is he telling?" He was almost scared to ask, but if they were inappropriate in any way then he didn't want the boys telling them to the wrong people.

"What's the best way to catch a fish?" Joe asked Rhydian. The question caught him off guard. How the hell was he supposed to answer that? These boys looked up to him for answers and yet he didn't know anything about fishing!

"Have someone throw it to you." Ollie told him.

"What?" Rhydian looked over to him perplexed.

"The best way to catch a fish is to have someone throw it to you." Joe explained. It took a second to click. Suddenly, realisation crossed Rhydian's face. Without even thinking about it, he burst out laughing.

"Okay, that wasn't bad." Rhydian admitted; letting out a relieved sigh as several jokes ran through his head that he was especially grateful it hadn't been. "Okay, here's a good one: there was a fisherman by a pond eating his lunch. He hadn't got much with him, so his friend offered him some of his to make sure he had enough. His friend held out a selection of fruit buns to him and so he said 'Well, I like these buns and I like these buns. The old trout's partial to a bun sometimes. But she's at home so I'll eat hers'."

"Wasn't that off an advert?" Ollie asked.

"How dare you?" Rhydian put on a mock offended tone.

"Go on, tell us one of your own!" Joe looked up at Rhydian expectantly.

' _I don't know any that are age appropriate_!' Rhydian realised as he frantically tried to come up with literally anything.

"So just tell us an inappropriate one and we won't tell anyone." Ollie grinned.

"Please don't be offended when I say I really don't trust either of you with something like that." Rhydian pointed out before a thought occurred to him. "Hang on a minute… Guys, I didn't even speak just then."

"I know." Joe said as he walked over to near the bed and grabbed a bag from behind it. It was full to bursting with various chocolates and other sweets they'd hoarded over time. He walked back over and held it out to Rhydian. "You don't have to anymore."

At Bernie's…

Maddy paced around anxiously outside Bernie's. The sun was showing the first signs of setting and Rhydian was atypically late. He wanted to get to Shannon's before dark. At this rate, she was tempted to just go in, buy everything she had the money for and if he turned up while she was in there then he could grab what he wanted when she was done. Suddenly, a shape off to her left caught her attention. Rhydian was running towards her heaving a giant bag of chocolate along with him. In shock, she ran over to help him.

"Where the hell did you get this?" she asked. "Did Mrs Vaughan trip over and forget that's supposed to be for the trick-or-treaters?"

"No, this was all Ollie and Joe." Rhydian told her, deciding to keep his conversation with the boys to himself for the time being. They probably didn't read his mind. It must have been a trick that they'd somehow set up for Halloween.

"They've hoarded _this_ much chocolate?" Maddy couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, I've got no idea how they did it." Rhydian sighed "Either I'm getting slower or they're getting quicker. Either way, I don't like it."

"Surely you can see this would be far too much!" Maddy said as she looked the bag over. It was an old Tesco reusable bag and the boys had managed to fill it full.

"They say whatever we don't use they want back." Rhydian shrugged. "I guess that solves that."

"Well, let's go then." Maddy started off, heading towards Shannon's house before doing a double-take. It was only then that she realised how out of breath Rhydian was even though he was putting a brave face on it. She walked back over and grabbed a handle of the bag, only then realising how heavy it must be. She struggled to lift it taking only half the weight. Luckily, Rhydian was supporting the other half and they set off together making pretty good time.

"Thanks for the help." Rhydian said as they walked.

"Well, why didn't you just say you were struggling?" Maddy asked, rolling her eyes.

"Mads, I'm totally capable of managing." Rhydian assured her. "I'm just grateful for the help."

"That's a point." Maddy muttered as Shannon's house came into view. "When's the last time we actually sat down and did something together other than the full moon?"

"It was at least a few weeks ago." Rhydian shrugged. "We literally just haven't had time. We've had homework, I've had to look after Ollie and Joe…"

"We should definitely look at going out again sometime." Maddy said as she held Shannon's front gate open. "I'm thinking maybe a walk up on the moors. There'll be snow up there soon so it'll be really romantic surrounded by ice covered trees and I'll be able to get some stunning photos."

"That sounds amazing." Rhydian agreed. "I'll be sure to wrap up warm." As he spoke, they heard Shannon's front door opening. She'd seen them staggering with the bag and ran to help them.

"Either Bernie is about to go out of business because you stole all his chocolate or he's just made enough money off the pair of you to retire eight times over!" she took the sight of the bag in with a look of awe. "How did you get this?"

"This is from Ollie and Joe." Rhydian told her. "Whatever we don't use they want back."

"Well that's a relief because there's no way we're getting through all this." Shannon took the sight of it in as she grabbed the bag from the bottom and helped Maddy and Rhydian to lift it. With three of them working together, it was a much easier job. It took them a full ten minutes to wrestle the bag into the living room and set it down. Eventually, they all flopped down onto the sofa gasping for breath.

"How is it long until Tom gets here?" Rhydian asked. In answer to his question, the doorbell rang.

"That should be him." Shannon got up and walked over to the door. Sure enough, Tom joined them seconds later looking utterly fed up.

"…I mean it's literally the same lecture every year for the last eight years. I can literally say it all off by- wow, that's a lot of chocolate."

"Yeah, thank Ollie and Joe for it." Maddy grinned.

"Right, I want at least half of it eaten by the end of tonight." Rhydian said decisively. "I am _not_ hauling all of that back in the morning!"

"Right, what food does everyone want?" Shannon asked. "My parents have left us more than enough and if it's not then they want to know why."

"Well, let me add to it." Rhydian shrugged, reaching into his wallet and grabbed a ten pound note. "I kept this for chocolate but since that's no longer on the table it may as well get used." Shannon was about to protest when Maddy held out her own ten pound note as well.

"Don't even think about trying to say no." Maddy cut in before Shannon could say anything.

"Okay, fine." Shannon sighed as she dug out the tin that contained their Halloween movie night money and held it open. They each added their money to the pile and Shannon put the tin in the middle of the table. "So I'll ask again, what food does everyone want?"

"Well, we need something meaty, obviously." Maddy pointed out.

"Shan, I would hide those wolfsbane pills!" Tom cut in, casting a worried look Maddy's way. Rhydian burst out laughing as Maddy smacked him across the arm in the exact place she had before.

"Don't even start!" she warned him.

"Yeah, we tend not to talk about that." Rhydian scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.

"That's a shame." Tom threw a wink in Shannon's direction. "It was that night I found out you loved Maddy. You wanted her so badly you were ready to tackle her into a ditch. That's how you tell someone who's truly desperate." Rhydian's eyes flashed yellow briefly, but he knew Tom was only teasing and so didn't push further.

"So for the third time of getting us back on track…" Shannon sighed as she got a pen and paper. "You say you want meat, so how does a KFC sound?"

"That's a great start." Rhydian nodded. "Can we get Chinese as well?"

"It's a good thing I got the Just Eat app specifically for tonight or most of the money would be lost on the phone bill." Shannon muttered drily.

"Well, I was thinking about burgers." Tom shrugged.

"Since I was up for pizza as well, that makes four separate meals for four separate people." Shannon muttered as she opened the app and started placing an order. "While we wait for it, what movie does everyone want to watch? Maddy, I think it was your turn to pick." Maddy got up and moved to the movie stack while Shannon passed her phone round letting everyone pick specifically what they wanted. She started rummaging through and eventually picked one.

"I haven't seen this one yet."

"Wait, you haven't seen Pitch Black?" Rhydian couldn't believe it.

"Do we have to?" Tom asked. "Just the thought of it makes my skin crawl!"

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" Rhydian asked.

"Screw you." Tom muttered under his breath. Maddy was confused but decided to let it go for the time being. She put the DVD in the player and turned on the TV. She skipped past all the trailers and hit play before sitting back as Rhydian turned the lights off.

' _They say your brain shuts down in cryo sleep_. _All but the primitive side… The animal side… No wonder I'm still awake_.' Everyone sat back to watch the movie, but Rhydian couldn't help but be distracted by a soft glow from his left.

"Tom, why have you got your phone on?" Rhydian asked.

"Oh, I just got a text." Tom replied. "Actually, can I be a pain in the arse and turn the lights back on? It'll make it easier to eat and the TV light always hurts my eyes in the dark."

"Yeah, that's fine." Shannon shrugged as Rhydian got up again and turned them back on. "Why did you never say before?"

"Honestly, it's not been this dark outside on Halloween in a few years." Tom said as Rhydian sat back down. Maddy jumped into his lap and cuddled into him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"He's right." Rhydian nodded. "It's getting dark much earlier. We could have a white Christmas this year."

"It's certainly cold enough." Maddy agreed.

"Now you're all just sounding like Jana." Shannon sighed. "I wonder how she's doing in the wild pack in the cold."

"Oh, she'll be fine." Rhydian assured her. "When I was out there, she showed me this blanket she had for the cold times. Since she was the alpha's daughter, my mum made it for her when she was a baby. It's got squirrel skins as a bottom layer and then two sheep skins fixed on top end-to-end so she'll basically never grow out of it unless she grows to be Alric's height. I really don't see that happening, so she'll definitely be fine."

"Well, that's good to know." A smile broke out on Shannon's face as she got up.

"Where are you going?" Tom asked as Riddick tried to ambush Johns from above and failed because he was still partially chained up.

"I'm getting plates." Shannon replied. "The food should be here soon." As if on cue, the doorbell rang.

"That can't be it already!" Maddy frowned as she sniffed the air. Sure enough, the smell of at least four different types of takeaway food drifted into the room. "Yeah, that's definitely it."

"I'll answer the door." Shannon headed towards the kitchen. "Can one of you get plates?"

"I'll get it." Rhydian replied. Maddy pouted as he lifted her off his lap and put her on the sofa. "Don't worry Mads, I'll be back." He walked into the kitchen to see Shannon paying the delivery man. He quickly grabbed four plates and some knives and forks. Shannon divided up the KFC and Chinese between Maddy and Rhydian before putting Tom's burger onto his plate and then moving on to her pizza. The plate itself was too small, so she had to cut it in half. Rhydian took a look at it and burst out laughing.

"What?" she asked defensively.

"Shan, you'll never manage all that!" Rhydian stared in awe.

"If I had a pound for every boy that's ever said that…" Shannon sighed.

"Did you order an extra large by mistake?" Rhydian asked.

"No, this is their large." Shannon told him. "I'm not against an extra large one though."

"Well, that's on you then." Rhydian shrugged. "Just don't force yourself."

"I won't." Shannon glared daggers at him. "I'm not Ollie and Joe, Rhydian. If I can't finish it, I'm sure Tom wouldn't mind. That one burger will never be enough for him."

"I think he's saving room for the chocolate." Rhydian grinned. "I don't blame him for not touching the stuff since Kay's party. He really made himself ill."

"I'm amazed it didn't have repercussions." Shannon muttered as she grabbed hers and Tom's plates. "Come on, grab the other two and let's get back to the movie." Rhydian grabbed the two remaining plates and carried them in. As soon as she saw the food, Maddy's eyes lit up.

"That looks amazing." She reached up and took one of the plates, tucking in and instantly seeming more relaxed.

"Does that feel better now?" Rhydian sat down next to her and couldn't hide his look of amusement.

"I never knew how hungry I was until now." Maddy admitted."

"I can tell." Shannon reached to the side and grabbed the ketchup from where she'd put it on the drinks table.

"I never saw you grab that." Rhydian remarked as he did a double-take.

"Can I use some after you?" Tom asked. "This burger tastes great, but it needs a little something."

"Yeah, that's fine." Shannon nodded. A few seconds later, the plastic bottle flew across the room. Tom tried to catch it, but he fumbled it and the lid popped open, squirting ketchup onto his shirt.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!" Tom glared down at the ketchup stain. "My dad just got me this shirt!"

"Get in the bathroom and sponge it off, quick!" Shannon jumped up and ran to the kitchen. "I'll get the bicarbonate of soda." Tom ran into the bathroom while Shannon headed for the kitchen. Knowing that they had it well in hand, Maddy and Rhydian continued watching the movie.

"So how do his eyes shine like that?" Maddy asked.

"He got given the eye shine as a gift to help him see." Rhydian told her. "He used to be completely blind although no one knew because he moved so naturally."

"That's awesome." Maddy muttered as she finished up the last of her noodles and moved on to the chicken. She picked it up and took a bite into the thigh. Instantly, Rhydian saw her face turn from bliss to pure contentedness.

"Try it like this." He wound a small amount of noodles onto his fork, making sure to get some scraps of the pork that came with them and a couple of the little prawns. He then placed them onto her chicken where the bite mark was. She took another bite and instantly seemed to melt.

"How have I not discovered this sooner?" she asked, disbelieving. "How did you manage this living in a vegetarian house?"

"Mrs Vaughan tried teaching me how to cook a couple of weeks ago." Rhydian told her. "After I nearly burned the kitchen down, she did the right thing and gave up. But there was one thing that stuck with me: each flavour is totally unique by itself. But if you put them together then you get something that you could never get from just one food."

"Are you trying to tell me you planned this when you asked for Chinese?" Maddy looked at him sceptically.

"No, but I bet you'll want to do this again at some point." Rhydian grinned as he grabbed another forkful of noodles for himself.

"I can see this becoming addictive." Maddy nodded eagerly as she focused back on the movie.

' _You're not afraid of the dark, are you_?' Riddick asked. Suddenly, the TV screen went black as every light in Shannon's house went out simultaneously. A high-pitched scream tore through the air as Maddy and Rhydian's eyes ignited yellow. While they could now see perfectly, they knew Shannon and Tom would still be blind.

"Shannon's in trouble!" Maddy quickly put her plate on the sofa as she and Rhydian jumped up. They quickly ran to the kitchen only to drop to the floor in blinded agony as Shannon swung the beam of her torch their way. The sudden light intrusion was too much and left them both in a heap with streaming eyes.

"What was that scream?" Shannon asked.

"Wasn't that you?" Rhydian hauled himself up with difficulty, blinking frantically to clear his vision.

"I'm not afraid of the dark, Rhydian." Shannon scoffed.

"Wait… Where's Tom?" Maddy looked around frantically through still blurry eyes.

"He went into the bathroom." Rhydian remembered. Without pausing, he ran up the stairs to the bathroom door. He could hear rapid breathing through the wood and a massively raised heartbeat. Tom was clearly petrified.

"Shan, can you shine the torch under the door?" Maddy asked.

"It's actually a phone app." Shannon told her. "My phone's an odd shape so it'll be difficult but I can try."

"Try aiming it for the metal strip in the doorway." Rhydian suggested.

"That could work." Shannon angled the torch beam downwards and they could instantly hear Tom's breathing slow down a bit.

"Tom, can you hear us?" Maddy called out.

"I can't see anything!" Tom practically yelled.

"It's a power cut, mate." Rhydian told him.

"Tom, are you afraid of the dark?" Shannon asked, almost unable to believe it.

"Maybe we could…" Maddy was frantically trying to come up with an idea when there was a splintering crash. The door burst off its hinges and crashed to the ground, allowing Tom to run towards them. He flung his arms around Rhydian and latched on like he was a life raft in the apocalypse. Shannon fixed Rhydian with a glare, annoyed beyond words at the door being broken down.

"It was taking too long." Rhydian shrugged. Suddenly, the lights came back on, blinding them all temporarily. Downstairs, they heard the TV come back to life.

"Well how the hell am I going to explain this to my parents?" Shannon stared at the ruined door as she turned off the torch on her phone. "This is probably going to come out of my allowance!"

"Just tell them the truth." Rhydian said, guiding Tom towards the stairs. He was shaking so Rhydian could tell how terrified he'd been. "Tell them to bill me if they bill anyone. I'll let Mrs Vaughan know that things might be getting expensive in the next few days _and_ I'll come round and put the new door on for them if they want. Tom was in trouble in there. You can't go putting inanimate objects before your friends!"

I know that!" Shannon snapped. "I was trying to work out a way to get him out _without_ breaking the door."

"Well, you're thirty seconds too late, so you'd better think faster." Rhydian muttered. He sat Tom down and turned the movie off so as not to add to him. He knew the eclipse scene would be coming and he also knew it wasn't what Tom needed. Everyone sat down, the food now all but forgotten. It was a while before anyone spoke. Eventually, Shannon got up and went into the kitchen. She came back with a glass of water and handed it to Tom. He gulped half of it down and finished the rest more slowly. She wrapped an arm over his shoulders in an almost protective manner and hugged him close.

"Why did you never tell us you were afraid of the dark?" she asked.

"I never had to." Tom shrugged, his voice sounding weak from panicking. "Every time I was in the dark, I was always with someone or had something beside me. When the lights went out, I was alone and I'd left my phone downstairs. The door wasn't even locked, but I just couldn't find it."

"Wait, the door wasn't even locked?" Rhydian couldn't believe it. "So I kicked it down for nothing!"

"What happened to not putting inanimate objects above your friends?" Shannon glared over at him.

"Yeah, but if I never _had_ to destroy the door…!" Rhydian let out a frustrated sigh. "It doesn't matter. I'll still pay for it."

"That doesn't matter, Rhydian." Shannon gave him an empty grin and it was clear in that moment how worried she'd been. "I just couldn't believe you actually did that. I haven't actually seen anyone do that since… well, I've _never_ seen anyone do that."

"It shook you up." Maddy said as though she was seeing right through Shannon. Shannon simply nodded.

"I think we all have our darkest fears and our reasons for them." Rhydian took a bite of his chicken. He wasn't even interested in it anymore. "You all know my biggest one and why. We all know that Maddy was scared of clowns and now we know Tom is petrified of the dark. What are you scared of, Shan?"

"I never really thought about it." Shannon shrugged. "I never had much time for fear when I was hunting the beast. I guess my biggest fear is isolation. Almost everyone pushed me away because they thought I was crazy, even my parents. I don't ever want to go back there again."

"So, are we going to finish the movie?" Tom asked.

"Are you sure?" Shannon fixed him with a look of concern. "The eclipse scene is coming up."

"We started it so we've got to finish it." Tom went over and turned the TV back on. "Those are the rules." They all sat back down and started watching again. Tom gritted his teeth and was able to get through the movie. He was proud of himself for managing it, but he knew he'd be sleeping with the light on tonight.

Epilogue

Rhydian made it home late that night. The movie night had gone smoothly after the power cut and everyone had ended up enjoying it in the end, albeit to various degrees. Still, he'd see them in school tomorrow. The full moon was in a few days. He couldn't wait to spend it transforming with Maddy.

Mrs Vaughan had left him a note saying to brush his teeth and come up quietly so as not to disturb Ollie and Joe. But as he walked upstairs to his room, he realised he needn't have bothered. Their door was open and they were waiting for him.

"Do you have any of the chocolate left?" Ollie asked quietly. Rhydian passed the now half-full bag to them now that he was able to carry it properly.

"Don't eat it all at once." Rhydian told them as he remembered ditching most of it at Shannon's. "I know it's delicious but if you wake up with rotten teeth tomorrow, Mrs Vaughan will want to know why."

"That's okay, we'll be careful." Joe grinned almost evilly.

"There was far too much of it anyway." Ollie shrugged. "No wonder you left most of it at your friend's."

"What?" Rhydian could feel his blood turning to ice. He hadn't said that aloud, had he?

"We told you, Rhydian." Joe took the bag and went to close the door. "You don't have to anymore."

"Good night." Ollie said as the door closed. Confused and slightly troubled, Rhydian turned to go to bed. As he did, he heard an almost mockingly fake howl drift through the door, followed by the boys' playful laughter. That was when it dawned on him. He'd thought about the full moon when he came in. Even when he didn't speak, he wasn't safe. He couldn't keep a secret from Ollie and Joe. This had to be his worst nightmare!

End!

 **Happy Halloween! I hope you all enjoyed the story. I'm so sorry I've been so quiet this year. I've had college work for most of it and then a load of personal problems both during and after. However, I have a very special surprise coming very soon. I won't say what it is because that will take the edge off. Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think.**


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